Gaius Antius Aulus Julius Quadratus (fl. 1st and 2nd centuries) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

, who was appointed

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

twice, in AD 94 and then in AD 105, the first senator from the Eastern Mediterranean to achieve the ordinary consulship.

Biography

Born in

, probably in the early 50s, Aulus Julius Quadratus was the son of Aulus, and a wealthy

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the city;Longenecker, p. 160 his sister was named Julia Polla.Olli Salomies, ''Adoptive and polyonymous nomenclature in the Roman Empire'' (Helsinki: Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1992), p. 31

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

believed he was related to the general

Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus (70 – 117) was a Roman senator and general. He rose from provincial aristocratic origins to occupy the highest offices of Rome. He served as a legionary commander and as imperial governor of Judea, Cappadoccia, Gal ...

, although Quadratus was a member of the Roman tribe Voltina and Bassus belonged to the tribe Fabia. Olli Salomies has argued his family came from Gallia Narbonensis, while Weisser says that he was descended from the

Attalid dynasty The Kingdom of Pergamon or Attalid kingdom was a Ancient Greece, Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Anatolia, Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; g ...

and the kings of

Galatia Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...

. Adlected ''inter praetorios'' (or with praetorian rank) into the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

sometime during the 70s, Quadratus was also co-opted into the Arval Brethren at some point before March of 78 when he is first mentioned in their ''

Acta Arvalia The ''Acta Arvalia'' were the recorded protocols of the Arval Brothers ''(Arvales fratres)'', a priestly brotherhood ('' sodalitas'') of ancient Roman religion. The ''acta'' were inscribed in marble tablets fastened to the walls of the Temple o ...

''. From 79-80, he was proconsular legate to the proconsul of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, Marcus Ulpius Traianus, father of the future Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. He would subsequently become a close personal friend of the Emperor Trajan, who honoured him as an ''amicus clarissimus'' ('most brilliant friend'). Syme infers that Quadratus served as proconsular legate in

Bithynia et Pontus Bithynia and Pontus ( la, Provincia Bithynia et Pontus, Ancient Greek ) was the name of a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). It was formed during the late Roman Republic by the ama ...

from 80-81. Quadratus was appointed governor of the public province of

Crete and Cyrenaica Crete and Cyrenaica ( la, Provincia Creta et Cyrenaica, Ancient Greek ) was a senatorial province of the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, established in 67 BC. It comprised the island of Crete and the region of Cyrenaica in present-day L ...

in 84/85. He is mentioned again in the ''Acta Arvalia'' from January 86 to May 89, indicating he was residing at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during that time. In the gap after May 89, he served the emperor as governor of

Lycia et Pamphylia Lycia et Pamphylia was the name of a province of the Roman empire, located in southern Anatolia. It was created by the emperor Vespasian (69–79), who merged Lycia and Pamphylia into a single administrative unit. In 43 AD, the emperor Claudius ...

from the year 89 to 93 At some point between 89 and 94, Quadratus added the prefix "Gaius Antius" to his name, likely as a requirement for accepting a legacy from an acquaintance. He was appointed suffect consul for the ''

nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year. S ...

'' May-August AD 94 with Decimus Valerius Asiaticus Saturninus as his colleague. In this position, Quadratus supported the young

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

's appointment as ''praefectus ferriarum Latinarum'' - his first public office. Quadratus was later appointed ''

legatus Augusti pro praetore A ''legatus Augusti pro praetore'' (literally: "envoy of the emperor – acting for the praetor") was the official title of the governor or general of some Imperial provincess of the Roman Empire during the Principate era, normally the larger ones ...

'' of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, where he was stationed from AD 100 to 104.Syme, ''Historia'', p. 181 As a reward for his long service he was elected ordinary consul in AD 105. He was the first senator of eastern origin to achieve this post. In the same year he was appointed priest of Dionysus Kathegemon in Pergamon. Later the Pergamenes also appointed him

gymnasiarch Gymnasiarch ( la, gymnasiarchus, from el, γυμνασίαρχος, ''gymnasiarchos''), which derives from Greek γυμνάσιον (''gymnasion'', gymnasium) + ἄρχειν, ''archein'', to lead, was the name of an official of ancient Greece ...

for life, in which role he may have been responsible for the construction of a new aqueduct bringing the water of the Caicus river to the city. He was finally appointed

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

ar governor of

in AD 109/110. His name appears on four issues of coinage at Pergamon, minted during this year. Following this, he convinced Trajan to grant the city a

neocorate A neocorate was a rank or dignity granted by the Roman Senate and the Emperor under the Empire to certain cities which had built temples to the Emperor or had established cults of members of the Imperial family. The city itself was referred to as ' ...

status for a second time, probably in AD 114/5. Pergamon was the first city in the Empire to achieve this honour, which entitled the city to erect a second temple dedicated to the

Imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...

, the Trajaneum, dedicated to the emperor Trajan and

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

. The epithet under which Zeus was worshipped in this temple, ''Philius'' ('of friendship') may have been a reference to the friendship between Trajan and Quadratus. Also in 114/5, Quadratus established regular games, the ''Traianeia Deiphilia'' in honor of Trajan and Zeus Philius. It is unclear whether he lived into the reign of Hadrian or saw the completion of the Trajaneum in AD 129.

Sources

* Bowersock, Glen Warren, ''Studies on the Eastern Roman Empire: Social, Economic and Administrative History, Religion, Historiography'', Keip Verlag (1994) * Longenecker, Bruce W., ''The Lost Letters of Pergamum'', Baker Academic, (2003) * Syme, Ronald, ''Some Arval Brethren'', Clarendon Press (1980) * Syme, Ronald, ''Historia Augusta Papers'', Clarendon Press (1983) *

Biography

Sources

References

Further reading